National CASC

In ecosystems characterized by flowing water, such as rivers and streams, the dynamics of how the water moves - how deep it is, how fast it flows, how often it floods - have direct effects on the underlying ecological communities. Yet increasingly, climate extremes like droughts and floods are disrupting fragile stream ecosystems by specifically changing their internal aquatic flows...

Understanding the paths by which water flows through the landscape is critical for providing fresh water for human use, maintaining ecosystem function, and better predicting how disturbances such as fire or drought may impact water quantity and water quality. Yet projected changes in climate, disturbances, and land use, are likely to alter hydrologic flow paths, and natural resource...

CASC experts are often requested to provide technical assistance to other Federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of State, as well as national and international partners. The U.S. Consulate in Thailand solicited leadership and guidance from the CASCs to help develop community-supported recommendations for increasing resiliency for fishing communities in the Mekong River Basin...

Climate change is reshaping the abundance and distribution of sport fishes across the U.S., creating novel challenges for socially and economically important recreational fisheries. Existing fish and recreational fisheries data sets are invaluable given their broad geographic footprint and long-term data, but integration across datasets to inform management has been limited, leading to...

Ecological restoration is essential to meeting global biodiversity conservation goals. Given limited conservation budgets, deciding where to restore habitat is a key challenge for the coming decade. We developed a spatially explicit framework to optimize ecological restoration site selection by integrating land use history, species distributions, and economic costs. We illustrate this...

Negative human-bear interactions are a common problem and management priority for many wildlife agencies in North America. Bears are adaptable to anthropogenic activity and food sources which creates opportunities for conflict with humans, including property damage, livestock depredation, and in severe cases, human injury. Acute climate events and long-term directional climate change can

The Vietnamese government has committed to climate mitigation and adaptation. Implementation of Vietnam's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to adaptation involves a greater focus on the Mekong River Delta, which is poised to be impacted by sea level rise. Saline intrusion from sea level rise and droughts can affect aquatic ecosystems and the services they provide, including...

Ecosystem services – the benefits that nature provides to people – are a natural link between ecosystem functions and economic and social impacts. However, climate change is already impacting and altering ecosystem services. Research focused on all aspects of ecosystem services falls within the mission of the Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs). While knowledge of ecosystem...

Actionable science has evolved rapidly over the last decade, and the Climate Adaptation Science Center (CASC) network has established itself as a leader in the field. The practice of actionable science is generally described as user-focused, action-oriented science that addresses pressing real-world climate adaptation challenges. It is also sometimes referred to as usable science...

Scientists and resource managers are in need of a better understanding of the status and trends of wildlife species and the vulnerability of these species to climate change. Effective prioritization of species and habitats for climate adaptation, endangered species management, and recreational and cultural hunting and fishing will require development, testing, and application of...

Recreational fisheries offer invaluable benefits to the communities they serve, including economic support, food security, and enhanced social connection with natural areas. In North America, bluegill are one of the most important species in terms of providing accessible, harvest-oriented recreational fisheries. In Wisconsin, they are the most caught, most harvested, and second-most...

The Northeast coast of the United States is an important area for a variety of native nesting seabirds including Common, Least, Arctic, and the federally endangered Roseate terns. These species migrate to the Northeast region to take advantage of highly productive waters during late spring and early summer to breed and raise their young. During this period, adults are highly dependent on...